easter egged | ari

[Theodore Marcus Flint]

a fine young galahad.

easter hols 2029

THERE WAS SOMETHING HORRID AND HEAVY sitting firmly on Theo's sleeping chest. He awoke slowly, groggy from his long travel on the Knight Bus from Barnton the night before. Great Aunt Octavia had been so blissed out on Sleeping Draughts, she hadn't even stirred when Theo had crept out of the front door with a duffel bag and his favourite denim jacket. He wasn't about to spend the whole of his easter holiday's stuck at home with her and her chronic flatulence. Instead, Theo had hitched the Knight Bus to Horizont Alley.

As if she had expected him, Theo found a spare key under the flower pot around the back of the shop. Just where it was always kept, right around the time when Theo made himself an unwanted guest. He typically spent much of his summers at Ari's place, but if he could swing it, he'd bunk down on the minor school holidays too. Great Aunt Octavia didn't approve, but they were at something of a stalemate. If Octavia was caught reporting him a runaway again, they might just stop the guardianship payments and send him off to a group home, leaving her poorer for it.

Waking slowly, Theo grunted at the weight on his chest. His eyes squinting open, finding Ari's relentless cat curled into a ball right where his lungs were situated. Nibs knew how little Theo cared for her, and yet she made a point of intruding on his personal space whenever he visited. Like a battle of wits. Theo rubbed his eyes, and nudged the back of hand against Nibs's sleeping side. He was given a low warning mewl that made him lean back and grunt sleepily. "Move it, fleabag." Theo muttered sleepily, but he knew better than to touch her again. One judging yellow eye opened, and he stuck his tongue out in reply.

The sound of shuffling feet alerted Theo to company, and he moved quickly. Devested of Nibs, who offered him an unpleasant hiss as she stretched on the living room floor. Theo paid no mind, searching for Ari with his chin hooked over the back of the sofa. "Are you making breakfast?" Theo asked around a very large yawn. "I haven't eaten in days." He moaned pitifully, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was still in his t-shirt and jeans from the night before. Having let himself in and promptly collapsed onto the sofa. They were skin soft and uncomfortable and he shifted restlessly. 

aurelia edith flint

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[aurelia edith flint]

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Aurelia really wished her brother would at least send her a text before he ran off and ‘broke’ into her apartment at nearly two in the morning. She had barely gotten into bed herself when she heard the iron gate that split the back alley from the patio area behind her shop, and a very sleepy peek through her blinds revealed Theo creeping up to the door to her flat with the key she’d expertly placed out there for him. He was always welcome, but she would have been able to at least make the couch up for him had she known. None of them needed to sneak around and be silent any longer, nor had they for years now. Old habits, she supposed. Being caught wandering the mansion halls when curfew was underway was not the best. Thankfully, she didn’t think her youngest brother ever had much of a chance to experience that. Aurelia had only done so on accident once or twice, caught curious by the smashing of furniture and broken glasses by drunken parents.

She liked to think that things were better this way. Even if Theo hated staying with Great Aunt Octavia, it had to be done. At least for a few more years. Despite being a law-abiding citizen in good standing with her community, or whatever else the courts wanted, they still refused to sign over guardianship to her. Never mind the fact that Theo stayed with her every summer and Octavia only held onto him for the extra money thrown her way. She had made it known that no ‘filthy bastard children’ were going to corrupt Marcus’s progeny. Aurelia and her sister had given up at that point. It was easier this way.

The following morning, she had woken up early enough to get through her shop’s early chores, creeping by her brother snoozing on the couch and her cat carefully eyeing where she was going to later lay on him. Nibs had a habit of encroaching on anyone who stayed on the couch too long. It was her spot, after all. She rarely cared to sleep in Aurelia’s bed with her, opting for the freedom of the rest of the flat. Theo was in her territory. By the time she had returned from downstairs, the cat had done just that and managed to climb up onto his chest. Surely that would wake him up soon.

The warning vocalization from her cat was an alert that Theo had awoken and tried to kick her off of her perch. If he wasn’t careful, she would push back. And with feline furry at that. His head appeared after a moment, and she almost laughed at the disheveled tussle of hair. ”Sure you have…” she gave him a look, knowing that their Great Aunt Octavia’s idea of cooking was about as appealing as eating a flavorless bar of soap. Maybe even worse than that. ”…but I can. Or we can go down to the corner and see what the bakery has?” It was easier to shove a couple of breakfast pastries and rolls into him than hope she had edible food inside her fridge right now. Once again, if she had known he’d be crashing here, she would have been able to prepare. ”Don’t think you’ll see those friends of yours there though.”

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[Theodore Marcus Flint]

a fine young galahad.

easter hols 2029

DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE SHOP WAS BELOW them, Theo was certain the whole place smelled faintly of sweet daffodils as he stared blearily at Ari from over the back of the sofa. He rubbed the smell out of his nose and draped his arms there so that he could rest his chin and grin beatifically. It had been a terribly long journey, and it wasn't as if old Octavia was known as an attentive guardian. He could almost pull off the whole 'hungry orphan' thing, with anybody but Ari.

"Do they do pain au chocolat's?" He asked, pulling his stiff body up and rolling off the sofa by throwing his body gracelessly over the back. He landed on the ground in a heap of overlong limbs and lanky arms. Turning his head, there was a rolled up sock under the sofa and a springy-looking cat toy. "Which friends?" He asked from the ground, moving slowly to sit up and rub the cat hair out of his eyes. "Sammy and Scottie?" He posed eventually, yawning without covering his mouth as he finally leapt to his feet.

"Right, cause it's the Vector place." He snorted heartlessly and padded toward the bathroom. "They don't really go anywhere without mummy on the holidays." He scratched at his stomach as he stretched. His bladder screamed at him and he picked up his pace briefly, casting one last look over his shoulder as he said. "Luckily for me, I don't have that kind of misfortune." He grinned that same big, stretching smile as he saluted his siter. "Seeing as mummy's dead."

Theo then he ducked into the bathroom to relieve himself and spend a good five minutes washing the cat hair and sleep from his eyes. Running a damp hand through his mass of dark, curly hair before he went back out to the front room to find Ari. "If I come, will you buy me one of those expensive espressos?" He asked with an expectant little smile on his face, red eyed and pink cheeked from the cold water. "I've decided I'd like to be a 'coffee guy'." He used quotation marks to emphasise his new venture. 

aurelia edith flint

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[aurelia edith flint]

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Her brother’s first question about the bakery was whether or not they had pain au chocolate, and Aurelia almost said that something healthier would be better. She stopped herself though. Who really cared? He was on a short break from school and visiting. The least she could do was treat him to what he wanted for breakfast. While she was debating this internally, Theo had managed to throw himself over the back of her couch and land on the floor. She blinked a few times before letting out a long exhale. Neither of them ever would have been able to get away with it prior to the timely deaths of their parents. There had never been any room for fun or stupidity in the Flint household.

Theo explained the inner workings of the Vector family, and she nodded her head. That was sort of the impression she had gotten from their mother, Harmony. They were practically neighbors, the art studio only a few doors down. Aurelia wasn’t particularly a fan of the woman and the way she threw her status around. She did her best to be pleasant around Harmony though. A customer was a customer, and Aurelia really didn’t need the wrath of a socialite brought down on her. That would give the fringe members of the Flint family the excuse they’ve needed to go after her and her sister too. It absolutely killed them that the twins, while bastard children in every sense of the world, were still pureblooded. She could care less about the status, except when it made the relatives scowl at her.

It killed her to hear Theo talk that way. As much as they all hated their parents, no kid should have to go through it. Were they better off without Pansy and Marcus? Without a doubt. They’d been saved from years of future abuse and terror. She really didn’t want to know what it would have looked like otherwise. Aurelia rubbed her face as Theo disappeared into the bathroom. Silently flicking her wand to summon her coin purse, it zoomed out of her bedroom and into her hand. Again, if she had known he was going to be coming by, she could have prepared a little better.

”Have you even had regular coffee?” she asked him, trying not to laugh at his silly declaration. Crossing the living room towards the door that led down and to the patio behind the shop, she fished a jacket off of the coatrack. ”An espresso might be too much for you…” Why was he growing up so fast? ”Get your shoes on,” she added as she slipped her own on, the heels bent and broken down. Aurelia was a proud follower of a singular tie of the laces: when they were bought. All shoes were meant to be slip-ons in her opinion.

Theodore Marcus Flint ● 475

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Theodore Marcus Flint]

a fine young galahad.

easter hols 2029

STROLLING LAZILY INTO THE FRONT ROOM, THEO met his sister's suspicious stare with a toothy grin. His hair was still a bit wet, the collar of his t-shirt damp from the tap water. He pulled it away from his skin absently. "They do coffee cake at Hogwarts." Theo defended himself, failing to mention that he wasn't terrible found of the stuff. That didn't matter, as far as Theo was concerned people didn't drink coffee because they liked it. They drank it because they needed it, and it looked cool.

"Please, stop being rational it's barely dawn." Theo raised a hand to his sister, as if to stop her in her tracks as he turned to bend before the duffel he'd thrown haphazardly by the door. He collapsed onto the floor briefly, pulling his wet t-shirt over his head and replacing it with a clean one, though a little rumpled. He tugged at the hem dissatisfied and raised his chin to face Ari.

"Crease-release me?" He blinked at her rapidly, pouting out his bottom lip in a begging manner. He couldn't go for his first espresso with a wrinkled t-shirt. He wandered around the sofa then, toeing on both of his trainers and hopping in place as he pulled the back over his heel. Head of hair flopping dangerously into his eyes as he did so.

"I want a double espresso in one of those ridiculously small cups." Theo declared, creating a small space between thumb and forefinger to demonstrate how small he thought the cups were. "And I want to dip my stupid French pastry into it and gossip about the last weirdo you served at the shop." He clapped his hands when both of his feet were back on the ground, and then swept his arms toward the front door. "After you, MacMillan!" 

aurelia edith flint

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[aurelia edith flint]

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”You do know that there’s not actually coffee in it, right?” Aurelia said in disbelief as she pulled the bent and semi-torn heels up around her ankles. The way it pinched the cuticles of her fingers told her that the laces were holding up tightly. She was sort of shocked that her brother was this…dumb? That wasn’t the right word for it. It had to be because of how early it was. Which, again, she was going to do her best not to get him running on caffeine. Surely it would stunt a fifteen-year-olds growth.

Aurelia watched him in wonder, realizing that she had forgotten how most of the silliness had been during her time in school. When nothing mattered except grades and what was for lunch. That was, of course, until the terms were over, and it was back to the manor she and her sister went. In a way, she was glad that Theo hadn’t had to grow up with it the way the two of them had. He was allowed to have complaints and aspirations without them being stepped on. The whole process of fishing a new, maybe clean, shirt out of his bag and pulling it on to replace the one he’d slept in was, by all accounts, the most un-Flint like behavior she had ever seen from anyone aside from herself. That would have thrown their mum into a fit of rage.

Flicking her wand at his wrinkled shirt, it straightened out in a starchy stretch, before relaxing back onto Theo. ”You should really learn how to do that for yourself.” She wanted to add that it would impress his classmates, but maybe teens weren’t easily persuaded that way anymore. The current lot had gone through terrible times together.

Aurelia was halfway through the door and down the stairs, entertaining the idea of maybe allowing Theo to have one shot of espresso. There was no way he would like its bitterness, and she could already picture the look of disgust on his face as he was bound to have. She stopped when he called her Macmillan. ”Theo-“ she said as she turned to look up at him. He was monstrously tall with the addition of a few steps. When had he gotten this big? ”I know you’re joking, but I would really appreciate it if you don’t call me that.” It didn’t matter if he was technically correct. She was not a Macmillan. ”Otherwise I’m sending you back to Aunt Octavia’s.”

Theodore Marcus Flint ● 416

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Theodore Marcus Flint]

a fine young galahad.

easter hols 2029

BLANCHING AT ARI'S DEADPAN RETORT THEO was stricken by the oddness of her revelation. He didn't believe her, scoffing low in the back of his throat as he ambled lazily across the room, shaking his head at her slowly. "Then why is it called 'coffee cake', stupid?" He rolled his eyes at her and rubbed the stiffness from his eyelids as he contemplated the ridiculous hour. Although, it wasn't really even that early.

He stretched the hem of his t-shirt until the wash of Ari's magic raised the fine hairs on his arms and chest. He shivered, shaking off the oddness of it as he smoothed a satisfied hand down his perfectly crisp t-shirt. Salazar, he loved magic. He couldn't wait to have the trace taken off his wand so he could crease-release all of his own clothes himself. "I can do it myself," Theo grumbled, though he wasn't entirely sure he could. Hopping one last time as he shoved his foot into his trainer and landed back on both feet with an unsteady stumble. "I'm not allowed, remember." He huffed an unsatisfied breath and rolled his eyes. "My birthdays in August, remember." Seriously wondering if she'd forgotten.

As they made for the stairs, Theo was a bundle of restless energy and sleepy excitement. He still had a pillow crease faintly pressed into one cheek and he was grinning maniacally as he nipped at his sisters heels like a very small, very nippy little crup. He almost tripped over Ari when she turned back abruptly, rocking back and grabbing the banister clumsily as he stared down at her with comically raised eyebrows. Had she forgotten something? Had he really stepped on the back of her heels? He wasn't sure, but she looked gravelly serious all of a sudden.

"Wh- call you what?" He asked stupidly, affronted by the change in tone. He was happy, he didn't want to think about going back to his frumpy old aunt's place. "Oh! MacMillan?" He scrunched his nose and blinked, trying to figure out if she was sort of joking or not. Her expression morphed every so slightly, but only to appear to flinch at the mere mention of her paternal surname. Theo chewed the inside of his cheek and tapped a finger against the banister. "I mean, but you-" He was going to tell her that she was, technically, a MacMillan, but paused momentarily to weigh up the pros and cons of that particular play.

Ari looked one wrong move away from grabbing his ear and Apparating them all the way to Barnton to drop him like a paper bag full of Troll shit on the doorstep. He cleared his throat, unlatched his hand from the banister to clasp both in front of him in desperate prayer. "Please, Aurelia Flint, don't cast me out into the cold before my very first espresso?" He screwed his eyes shut and shook his hands like a desperate zealot. "You are my favourite sister and I so look forward to our time together..?" He clenched his teeth in a grotesque grin and squinted one eye open to see if his ploy had worked to assuage her doubts. 

aurelia edith flint

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[aurelia edith flint]

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Aurelia often forgot that 'arguing' with teenagers was a losing battle. Especially one like her brother, who would become indignant for the sake of it. How very Flint of him. She imagined that in his world, where coffee cake did indeed contain coffee (or caffeine?), he pretended to get an ethereal rush in front of all of his little friends at the dining table. Either that or he was trying to show off to that weird rat girl he hung out with often. Aurelia knew she was Terry's younger sister, but Merlin's scraggly beard she was odd. The few times she'd entered the store, she spent the entire time talking to herself, or that was what Aurelia had initially thought. Apparently, the girl had her pet rat stuffed into the collar of her jacket and was conversing with it while perusing.

Purposely ignoring the fact that Theo still had the trace on him, her statement still stood: he should know simple charms like the one she'd cast. Everyone needed to. Life was so much easier with a textbook of household spellcasting memorized. Hilariously, if her shop ever failed, she'd make for a perfect housewife. The thought made her shudder as she stepped outside and dealt with her brother's next annoying tendency.

Theo seemed to be battling himself over how he wanted to continue. He couldn't help himself, that much was obvious. The flair for theatrics that he was trying to put on didn't win her over in the slightest. This sort of thing would never end. He simply didn't get it yet. Or he did and didn't care. Which was hard to believe, considering she was the one he always ran to when he needed an escape. Maybe she was just a pushover.

"So I can give you the boot after then?" she asked before turning back around to finish her descent to the back patio. Instead of unlocking the door to the shop, she opted for the wrought iron gate that connected to the adjacent alleyway. It saved an incredible amount of time for day to day errands. She held the gate open for him before exiting herself and locking it behind them. "I'll tell your girlfriend you've been taken to St. Mungo's for attempting self-engorgement charms half a dozen times if you don't let up." Aurelia didn't care if that was true. She knew to hit him where it hurt.

Theodore Marcus Flint ● 403

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Theodore Marcus Flint]

a fine young galahad.

easter hols 2029

PEEKING BEHIND HIS PRAYING HANDS, THEO was glad to find that Ari didn't look half as incensed as she had before. In fact, she looked pretty defeated by his performance and she hadn't grabbed him to Apparate either. A win, Theo surmised, dropping his hands and grinning triumphantly. "If you want..." He appeased, but he didn't really believe it. His old sister was a bit soft, and she knew how much he hated his great-aunt, hence the sofa and the general tendency to let him fly a little too close to the sun - or freedom.

Walking alongside her through the alleyway, down the front of the shop and into the bustling main street, Theo was sun warmed and reeling. He didn't have school, he didn't have his musty old aunt haunting him. He was utterly and completely at his own will. Unfortunately, Ari spoke then and shattered his brief revelry.

"Jokes on you," He snapped with a huff, horrified at the threat. "I don't have a girlfriend." And lucky that, too, because he quite believed Ari might just do something like that for revenge. Theo turned up his chin and walked ahead, feeling buoyed by his quick wit as he aimed for the coffee shop not too far from his sisters flat, and shop. "Do you have a boyfriend?" He asked with a cruel little smirk on his mouth. "Is that where you learned the word 'self-engorgement'?" His smirk was mean-spirited the way only a teenagers could be. 

aurelia edith flint

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[aurelia edith flint]

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It was hard not to think of her brother as a humanoid puppy. There were mannerisms that the two absolutely shared, and he knew how to sell it well. Aurelia typically capitulated, even when she knew that she was supposed to act as the responsible adult she was. At the end of the day, Theo was still her little brother. While she would like to say that he was ripped away from their parents at too young of an age, doing so would seriously undercut the abuse that they put the rest of the siblings through. The reminder that he was still a child and trying to find his own way in the world was always running through her head. Whenever he pushed her buttons, it was just an attempt at trying to find his own way. She had done very similar things at that age too. Except she had to be secretive about a lot of it, otherwise the wrath of Pansy would have been upon her.

Horizont Alley was pleasant this morning, and far more crowded than she had anticipated. At some point after breakfast, she was going to open the shop eventually. Everything necessary for opening was already handled before Theo awoke. For the time being though, shoppers didn’t need any flowers or magical plants. They could wait until she was ready for them. It almost never worked out that way.

”Oh really?” She could have sworn he and the youngest Poole were attached at the hip. Aurelia wasn’t exactly sure what her brother saw in the rat-obsessed child, but maybe that was the whole point. The Poole girl was strange, and that invited curiosity. It didn’t make sense to her at all though. Blinking away her apparently wrong assumption, Theo sucker punched her with his own question about whether or not she had a boyfriend. Because that apparently went in hand with self-engorgement. ”No…not currently.” Aurelia ignored answering his question about the supposed penis-enlarging charm. Every student at Hogwarts knew that rumor. A year didn’t pass by without some poor kid being subjected to it, whether or not he actually attempted the spell to begin with. There was no way Theo wouldn’t know about that already. ”I thought you and what’s-her-name were. Rat girl? Terry’s sister?” she tried to turn it back around on him again.

Theodore Marcus Flint ● 390

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